Basic Tips and Tricks
Oversimplified Lore
Here’s the essential basics of each main Halo game to date, in order based on the dates in-universe.
Minor spoilers ahead.
Game 1: Halo Reach
Release Date: 9/14/2010
Story: You’re a lieutenant that has to hitch up with a group of supersoldiers, also called Spartans, dubbed ‘Noble Team’. You do stuff like shooting religious aliens called the ‘Covenant’ on a planet named ‘Reach’. The alien bastards begin obliterating the beautiful planet. Some old lady named Dr Halsey gives you an AI that you do nothing with. Everyone around you dies, and you give some other old dude the AI. He then flies back to his big ship called the ‘Pillar of Autumn’, and then straight up leaves you on the devastated planet. You’re absolutely screwed. The End.
Game 2: Halo: Combat Evolved
Release Date: 11/15/2001
Story: Stepping into the shoes of the Master Chief / John 117, the army’s best Spartan, and the main character of the series. You awake on-board the ‘Pillar of Autumn’ and forced to fight your way off of the ship due to aliens conveniently having ships that can board it. You become acquainted with that AI from the last game, whose name is Cortana. The crew accidentally discovers forerunner technology called ‘Halo’ – a massive ring world that the Covenant has taken a particular liking to. So, you hop on the ring world, discover alien zombies known as the ‘Flood’, and realise that you should get the hell off of it. Well, you exactly that, blowing it up said ancient tech in the process.
Game 3: Halo 2
Release Date: 11/9/2004
Story: The Covenant accidentally finds Earth, goes with the flow, and invades it. You take the role of Master Chief again, and-
Game 4: Halo 3: ODST
Release Date: 9/22/2009
Story: You find your normal soldier buddies who are as weak as you and escape the dark, dreary, jazzy streets of New Mombasa during the Covenant invasion.
Getting back to Halo 2, the Covenant nukes Africa, and then you switch roles with another character. This new character is called the Arbiter, and is essentially the Chief’s rival, and a Covenant alien called a Sangheili. After failing to make the ‘Prophets’ happy in Halo: CE, the Prophets send him out to get rid of some alien heretics who don’t like what the Covenant is doing. They become plasma marks beneath your feet. Back to the cool Earth people, they find yet another ‘Halo’ and board that, but the Covenant managed to find it first, so you fight more aliens. Some big hairy apes join up with the Covenant and kick the Arbiter’s, so he joins the Earth army. Master Chief hops on-board the Covenant mothership ‘High Charity’, kicks more, fights the Flood again, and then rides a forerunner ship back to Earth.
Game 5: Halo 3
Release Date: 9/25/2007
Story: Master Chief crash-lands on Earth, and almost dies, but since he’s really lucky, he’s fine. Waking up, he realises he left Cortana on-board High Charity, and goes to save her. Finally meeting the Arbiter, they don’t exactly like eachother since they’re both aliens, but they become buddy buddy in a bit. They go on a safari, travel the desert, and discover the Halo of all the Halos – ‘The Ark’. Master Chief finishes this fight by finding Cortana, escaping The Ark through an epic chase sequence, jumps onto the ship ‘Forward Unto Dawn’, and escapes the Ark which blows up. He then hibernates until the next time he’s needed through cryogenic stuff on board.
Game 6: Halo 4
Release Date: 11/6/2012
Story: Master Chief was needed once again, and he wakes up from his slumber to find a NEW Covenant and the ancient forerunner aliens he’s been screwing with in the past games. He blows up their king. The End.
Game 7: Halo 5: Guardians
Release Date: 10/27/2015
Story: Some guys we never really heard about are trying to find Master Chief and get his autograph. Cortana couldn’t login to her Bethesda account so she gets really angry and kicks their, teams up with the ancient aliens, and creates a massive AI army. That’s about it.
Whats In Store
Just info on what each game contains without modifications.
Title: Halo: Combat Evolved
- Campaign: Lots of exploring. Enemies are fun to battle yet still challenging.
- Multiplayer: Radical. Physics are strange, offers strangely enticing combat scenarios.
- Unbiased rating: 7.5/10
Title: Halo 2
- Campaign: Straightforward paths that want you exploring every nook and cranny.
- Multiplayer: Tense fights and unpredictable assaults by the enemy.
- Unbiased rating: 8/10
Title: Halo 3
- Campaign: Vast maps with many ways to kill your foes.
- Multiplayer: The most fun you’ll ever have. Custom content made by players. Normal interactions leave you wanting to strange yourself when you encounter enemies, so you have to get creative.
- Unbiased rating: 9/10
Title: Halo 3: ODST
- Campaign: ‘Open world’ and forced linear exploration. Jazz.
- Multiplayer: Nonexistent.
- Unbiased rating: 6/10
Title: Halo Reach
- Campaign: More vast maps, limited ways to kill enemies. Enemies keep you on your toes.
- Multiplayer: The best multiplayer experience one could wish for. Even more custom content. MLG experience. Killing players feels fantastic.
- Unbiased rating: 8.5/10
Title: Halo 4
- Campaign: Lackluster. Feels empty.
- Multiplayer: There is always something to do, and boggles the mind how fun it can get.
- Unbiased rating: 5.5/10
Title: Halo 5
- Campaign: Chunky mess with gameplay that shouldn’t be in Halo. Feels like a generic FPS.
- Multiplayer: Way too much for casual players to handle. Creative modes feel restricting because of how great and huge it is.
- Unbiased rating: 3/10
The Hud
Lets talk about Halo’s hud. This visor is in-your-face and normally tells you everything to you during gameplay… eh, might as well tell you about the layout here!
ENERGY SHIELD: Big blue bar normally at the top of the screen. If you get shot, it depletes. You have to wait for it to recharge. Since you have no health, you have to consider your moves very carefully.
ENEMY LOCATOR: Ye Olde player and enemy tracker at the lower left-hand corner of the screen. Very helpful, so make sure to periodically check it out.
WEAPON SELECTOR: On the top left / right hand corner of the screen, it displays the icon of the weapon you are currently holding.
Choosing Your Weapon
Now that you know the layout of your game, it’s time I fill you in on the weapons that are prominently featured in the series.
- Weapon: Assault Rifle
Action: Automatic
Range: Close quarters
Use: Pump your enemies full of lead until they finally drop to the floor. - Weapon: Battle Rifle
Action: ‘Selective’ fire
Range: Knows no bounds
Use: A small handful of shots will get the job done. - Weapon: Magnum
Action: Semi-auto
Range: Absurdly close quarters
Use: Don’t use this weapon unless you’re playing Halo: Combat Evolved – you essentially have an Executioner in your hands with a scope. - Weapon: RPG
Action: Semi-auto
Range: Medium
Use: Be very careful while you’re operating it, someone may conveniently walk in front of you. Otherwise, its a weapon that should be feared by all. - Weapon: Shotgun
Action: Semi-auto
Range: CQC – Medium
Use: Aim at the chest and press the trigger. Only works when you’re not using it. - Weapon: Plasma Rifle
Action: Automatic
Range: Medium
Use: Energy shield drainer. Don’t use it to actually kill anything unless you’re desperate. - Weapon: Covenant Carbine
Action: Semi-auto
Range: Medium
Use: Easy ‘Get-Out-Of-Jail-Free’ card. - Weapon: Plasma Pistol
Action: Semi-auto
Range: Close quarters
Use: Energy-shield repellent. Terrifying combo if paired with Battle Rifle. - Weapon: Fuel Rod Cannon
Action: Semi-auto
Range: Medium
Use: Become the laughing stock of the party with one simple click. If you’re not in a party, them just prepare yourself mentally. - Weapon: Needler
Action: Automatic
Range: CQC – Medium
Use: Aim at any part of the enemy and let it rip. Like the shotgun, it runs on luck.
